New meaning to "vegetation"!

With the addition of greenery, the Jupiter Inlet lighthouse is now finished!

The grass was worked in a diagonal horizontal cashmere stitch using one strand of Impressions "Emerald," an over-dyed thread that provided built-in shading at the base of the lighthouse. The fronds of the palm tree on the left were formed by a satin stitch with one strand of Wildflowers "Moss."

I had the leaves of the trees on the right to stitch as well as the bushes in the foreground, and I wanted to use French knots for each while still keeping the trees in the distance. I chose a thinner silk/wool blend thread--Sheep's Silk "Green Leaves"--and stitched the trees in a single strand with one wrap. By working a French knot over each canvas thread, the Sheep's Silk became compacted and each knot less pronounced.

On to the bushes--and a veritable vegetable soup! On the left, I used a single strand and one wrap of Silk & Ivory "Spinach"; on the right, I chose Silk & Ivory "Broccoli." Using a thicker silk/wool blend and stitching over every other canvas intersection produced plumper and more distinct French knots suitable for a foreground.

Tomorrow--a celebration!